Brent Sutter unhappy with Calgary Flames’ lack of third-period effort
When the Calgary Flames are hot, their offence roars to life, and their goaltenders steal big wins for them. But when things go wrong, head coach Brent Sutter doesn’t let his team forget
about it.
Lately, maintaining a lead in the third period has been a thorn in the Flames’ side, as the team has been outscored by a 5-1 margin in the third period in their past two games. The Flames
managed to beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 in a shootout after the first third-period meltdown, but wound up on the wrong side of a 6-5 loss to the Colorado Avalanche after surrendering three goals.
“I saw a team that stuck with the program for 36 minutes,” Sutter said after the Flames’ frustrating loss to the Avalanche.
“The only way you can consistently be a good hockey team is if you understand that it doesn’t matter who you are, this is what you have to do. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the
past, it doesn’t matter what you’ve done somewhere else in the past, this is our team - this is the way we have to play.”
Back-up goaltender Henrik Karlsson, who started for Calgary, didn’t earn any praise from Sutter after the game, as he had given up six goals in the loss. The other players were also the
targets of the coach’s criticism, as they failed to play well in front of their goalie.
“Our best players, outside of Olli [Jokinen], weren’t very good - bottom line,” Sutter said of the team’s lack of effort. “[Matt] Stajan’s line wasn't very good…Our top defencemen weren’t
very good tonight.”
Sutter also mentioned that good teams are not supposed to blow leads while on home ice. He added that ending the team’s third-period woes is something that the entire team needs to work
on.
“There’s no one left off the hook. Until everyone understands that, this is going to happen. It’s my job as head coach to make darn sure it stops.”
Calgary will play their next game on Saturday, 30 October, when they face the Washington Capitals.
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